Ohio Charity

I got to visit Hospice of Cincinnati this week in Mason, Ohio. This is the charity benefiting from our tournament. Here is an article about this very enlightening experience:


http://www.lpgafuturestour.com/content_1.aspx?pid=28472&mid=1

Iowa

On Sunday, June 29th I made my way to Iowa from South Florida. I met my travel buddy, Alex in Jacksonville and stopped in Atlanta to stay with my good friend Katie who recently got married. On Monday, we drove around 14 hours to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was the two longest days of my life driving in a car!! But its worth it to have my own car and it helps save money.

Our housing was absolutely wonderful and took us under their wings like we were their own children. On Thursday, I played in the Pro-Am and it rained for the first 9 holes but we had a great and fun team! Played pretty well too! Here we are in front of a giant tire. Titan Tire was the sponsor for the week so there were tons of tires and tractors by the practice facilities. Unfortunately, the wind came on Friday afternoon when I teed off and could not control my ball. I kept it together on the front 9 shooting 38 but had a disappointing 44 on the back to shoot 82. I collected myself though and the next day came to the course with a positive attitude and shot 73. I still had some issues with my swing but managed to shoot a decent score and only miss the cut by 2. Its nice when you play bad and still just barely miss the cut. I fell out of the top 10 on the money list since the first tournament, however this gives me a lot of motivation going into this week in Ohio to get back up at the top!!

Windy Texas

Hey everyone. A few weeks ago I played a Futures event in San Antonio, Texas. I had the pleasure of playing in a pro-am with Tom Bittner and Buddy Neumaier who were both associated with the primary sponsor, Symetra. We had an awesome time and I want to thank them both for coming to Texas to help support us girls trying to "make it" out on tour! I had a blast with you guys!

Fortunately, my Mom's spring break was that week and I have family in Texas so I had a girls weekend intertwined with the tournament! My cousins Brandi and Jodi, and my Aunts Ami and Nancy all came down for a fun weekend of golf, girls, and fun! They didn't know anything about golf so my Mom taught them a few things out there. My Mom always fists pumps after I make a birdie so they knew when to make that sign. Here's all of us making a birdie pump...

The course was very difficult and very windy so those birdie fist pumps were few and far in between. That week, the Royal wedding was happening and my family commented on how they had to walk down the isle with their hands high up in the air so it turned into a joke. Since the course, was so difficult, they thought pars were worthy of a sign so here it goes....It definitely made me laugh and other people in the gallery caught on and joined them! At least my family knows what a par and a birdie look like now :) I shot 76-74-78 to finish in a tie for 51st. It was a struggle in the wind and the greens were lightning fast with crazy breaks! The course is called The Dominion and some of the Spurs players have houses in there along with George Straight. So you can imagine how nice this course is! Its definitely one of my favorites but also one of the hardest! On the last day, I was even with 5 holes to play and unfortunately finished 6 over. They were all dead into the wind and I had a hard time judging how much club to take. Its hard when your standing over the ball and your hat flies off from so much wind! I was just glad to finish and enjoy some time with my family. We got to go to the Riverwalk and see the Alamo.














After the Symetra Classic, I went to Dallas for a few days to see my cousins' sweet children! I've spend the last few weeks sharpening up my game and getting ready for 5 weeks in the Midwest. I leave for Iowa on Sunday and have a 22 hour drive!! Hoping that the storms stay away while I'm driving and I get there safely! I'll try to update everyone weekly. Thanks for following and happy golfing :)

Daytona Beach Invitational

This past week I played in the 2nd LPGA Futures tournament at the LPGA Champions course in Daytona Beach. I finished in a tie for 16th at even par for the week (74-70-72) On the first and third days, I really felt like my game was off so I was pleased to shoot those scores. My goal is to make my "bad" days into even par days. In other words, try to recover myself quickly rather than make a bogey into a double or so forth. I added another $1017 to my winnings and am ranked 4th on the money list but there is plenty of golf left! Just got to keep winning money and getting top 10 finishes to stay in that top 10 to earn my LPGA card at the end of the season. My Grandparents and Aunt surprised me on Saturday and came to watch, as well as my brother, Andy.

Then on Sunday, Justin and his sweet girlfriend Allie drove from Gainesville to come watch.

I am missing my only tournament of the season this week. I'll pick up again in San Antonio in 3 weeks. So until then I'll be working on my game and playing a lot. I'm getting new wedges this weekend which I'm really excited about! I only had a 54 and 58 degree and now I'll be getting a 52, 56, and 60 degree. I think it will really help with the gap I have in between my pitching wedge and 54 degree (so right in that 100 to 90 yard shot) which is so important! I'll be taking out my 5 wood from my bag which I never use anyway so it works out great.

I had awesome housing for the week! :)

I set several goals this year for my season and one of them is my par 5 average to be under par. Last year it was over par and that is just absolutely silly!! So I made a deal with myself that if I was within 220 yards I would hit a 3 wood and go for the green but if any more than that, I would lay up to 100 yards. (Key to getting the right club for that yardage). I just feel more comfortable with a full shot in rather than an awkward 30 yard shot with no green to work with or bunkers in front. So far, my plan is paying off well. My average is still better on par 3s and par 4s but I'm still working on these par 5s. For instance, in Winter Haven, my average par 5 for the week was even par. EVEN PAR!!! and I was only 1 shot from winning...you do the math! Those are the money holes. So if I can birdie more par 5s I can definitely be in contention more! So my Dad made a deal with me. For every par 5 I birdie, he will give me a dollar and every par 5 I bogey, I owe him a dollar. I think this will keep me focused on each shot on par 5s and have that extra pressure. This past week I was 3 under for par 5s so I'll take that as an improvement from Winter Haven. Check out the stats for the season here: www.lpgafuturestour.com/Stats/Statsleaders.asp I'm on most of those stats and I hope to stay on there all year long! :)

2nd Place start to a great season!

What a week! I just finished up at the first tournament of the LPGA Futures Tour season with a 2nd place finish. I am so stoked! After finishing 2nd at the same course at Q-School in November, I had good vibes going in to the week but little did I know how great it was going to be!! The week started out great with a fun practice round with my friends Carrie Riordan and Nikki Hadd. Then I got to visit friends in Lakeland where I went to college. On Thursday, I played in my first Pro-Am. My dad and his company sponsored a team and we finished in a tie for 2nd! It was a fun day and I was happy to play with them for my first Pro-Am on the Futures Tour. Friday was the first round of the tournament and my boyfriend, Travis was on the bag caddying. I played great and had 5 birdies and was 5 under going into my 18th hole. It was a par 5 and after missing the green well short, I hit a horrible chip and preceded to 3 putt to settle for a 69. It was a disappointing ending to a great day but Travis reminded me, you can't win it on the first day. This sets you up to be in the leader groups. Sure enough I was tied for 4th and 2 shots back. On Saturday, I had another steady round and had 6 birdies to shoot a 68. On my first hole, I almost knocked it in from 110 yards!! It was great to start with a birdie. I finished 1 shot back from the leader and would be in the final group on Sunday.

Travis and I decided to match on Sundays whenever he caddies :)

Sunday was the final day and what an exciting day it was!!! It was pretty windy and I had to stay patient to determine where the wind was blowing because it kept switching. I made 8 solid pars with a good birdie on #3 to take a 2 shot lead going into the back 9. Then things got real exciting and intense!! We had a great gallery with my parents and a lot of people from Lakeland that I knew or were rooting for the "local" girl since I went to college 20 minutes away from the tournament site. On #10, I 3 putted and parred the short par 5 #11 to loose my lead and go into a tie with Tzu-Chi Lin. On #12 I knocked it to about 20 feet. After seeing Lin knock her putt I knew I had to make mine. Sure enough, I rolled it in to stay tied for the lead. #13 was another good par 5 and Lin had knocked her approach shot to 6 inches. I preceded to knock mine to 1 foot to solidify my birdie. The next hole, Lin birdied and I parred so I was 1 down. We both boggied the next which leads us to #16. #16 is a dog-leg left around trees. I hit what I thought was a perfect drive but it barely knicked a tree and kicked dead left into trees. My stance was up against a tree and I had to punch out to the fairway. As I was walking out of the trees frustrated, one of the gallery members said "don't give up, you got this, you can do this!" So after pacing off 83 yards, I knew a solid 54 degree wedge was a good shot to set up a par chance. It landed on the green and I sighed a relief when I saw it near the hole and thought, great I've got my par save! 2 seconds later, Travis yelled, "one time!" and sure enough I made it for birdie!!!!!!!!!!! What a birdie!!!! The gallery was cheering so loudly and the other 2 girls and caddies gave me high fives. That birdie put me back in the tie for the lead!!!! After calming down, I hit a great 5 iron to 20 feet on a par 3 and missed the putt for birdie. Tied for the lead with Lin going into the last hole. I decided to stick to my game plan, hit a 3 wood left (its a dog-leg right), hit to 100 yards and then hit a wedge up to set up a birdie try. Lin decided to go for it in 2 and it paid off. (It was a very small green guarded with water in front and a bunker in the back of the green) I just missed my 20 ft birdie putt and she 2 putted for the win. She deserved the win though with 5 birdies on the back side. I was happy I kept up with her! I'm so stoked about my finish and am so excited for the rest of the year. I cashed $11,000 and am 2nd on the money list. Top 10 get their LPGA card next year and so far, I'm looking good :) Thanks to everyone who sent me messages, calls, and texts. Thanks to those people who came out to watch, especially my parents who were there all 3 days and helped me celebrate my accomplishment. And of course to Travis, my caddie/boyfriend. He was such a great support system and helped me stay calm and stick to my game plan all week. Keep watching for the rest of the year because I know this won't be the last time I'm in contention on a Sunday! Tomorrow I'm heading off to Daytona for the 2nd tournament of the year at the LPGA Champions Course. On Thursday I have a Big Break Audition. Hopefully my 2nd place at Q-School and this past week will help me earn a spot on the show :)

(These last 3 photos were taken by The Ledger)

Florida Women's Open

Hey everyone! I played in the Florida Women's Open Monday-Wednesday of this week. It was a great start to my season. I have't played in a tournament since Q-School in November so I was definitely a little rusty. On Monday, I started off with 3 boggies in my first 4 holes but finished out even for the rest of the day so I shot 75. The Next day I played great and shot 69! Moved into a tie for 8th out of 60. Wednesday was the final day and I started off great having 2 birdies in a row to be 2 under going into #6, a short par 5 that is a very easy birde hole. Well I must have had a brain fart because after hitting in the trees and having to chip out I managed to hit 2 balls in to the water and then 2 putt for a 10! A 10!!!! I can't believe it. I haven't had a double digit on a hole in a very long time! All I could do was laugh it off and hit my next shot to 9 feet and make a birdie. I managed to make 2 more birdies and shot even par 72. Not too many people can say that had a 10 and shoot even par! Haha. The unfortunate part was that 5 under won the tournament so if I had just parred that hole...you get the picture! But after not playing in a tournament since November, I feel pleased with my effort and excited for the Futures Tour season to start in 2 weeks in Winter Haven, Florida!!

On another note, thank you to everyone who came out to support me in my Chasing the Dream fundrasier last Saturday, March 5th. It was a huge success and I raised enough to enter every tournament this season! I'll put pictures up on my facebook page so be sure to check them out :) Also, I'm in the process of updating my webpage so keep an eye out for that as well.

Fundraiser

I am having another fundraiser to afford another season on the LPGA Futures Tour. It costs $500 to enter each tournament plus travel, living, and equipment costs. You can check out the schedule on www.lpgafuturestour.com and see how I'll be traveling all over the country this summer for the quest of my LPGA card.

On March 5th, I am holding a fundraiser at The Club at Pointe West. It is a scramble format at 8:30. It is $75 a person and includes golf, lunch, prizes, and a live auction! Tee signs are also available for a price of $75.

Last year, I couldn't have played without this fundraiser. I know that every penny helps me reach my dream of playing on the LPGA. Thank you for the support! Contact me with any questions or if you want to play or help: jackie@jackiebgolf.com